Monday, March 5, 2012

The second installment of Mixing it up Monday features a brand new cocktail that I created for Koloa Rum Company. I was hanging out in Binny's Beverage Depot and stumbled across a brand new Rum company to hit the shelves here in Chicago.. Bought a bottle and actually enjoyed the spirit. So a few weeks later via my twitter profile, the same company reached out to me to create a cocktail for the website. I jumped on the opportunity and here is what I came up with...

Apple Bitters(Recipe from the book- Bitters A Spirited History of the classic cure all by Brad Thomas Parsons)

Peels from 6 medium to large (preferably organic) apples

Zest of half a lemon, cut into strips

2 Cinnamon sticks

.5 tsp Allspice berries

.25 tsp Coriander

.5 tsp Cassia chips

.5 tsp Cinchona bark

4 Cloves

2 cups High-proof bourbon

1 cup Water

2 tbsp Rich simple syrup (two parts sugar, one part water)

Place the apple peels, lemon zest, cinnamon, allspice,
coriander, cassia, cinchona bark and cloves in a 1-quart Mason jar or other
glass container with a lid. Add the bourbon, making sure all the ingredients
are covered. (Add more bourbon if needed.) Seal, and store at room temperature
out of direct sunlight for 2 weeks, shaking once a day. Strain the liquid
through a cheesecloth-lined funnel into a clean 1-quart jar, squeezing the
cheesecloth to release any excess liquid. Seal the jar and set aside.

Transfer
the solids to a small saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil over
medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from
the heat and let cool completely. Add the contents of the saucepan to another
1-quart Mason jar, seal and store at room temperature out of direct sunlight,
for 1 week, shaking once a day. Strain through cheesecloth until all solids
have been removed and add the liquid to the bourbon mixture. Add the rich
simple syrup and shake to combine. Let stand for 3 days and strain through
cheesecloth again to remove any debris. The bitters will last indefinitely, but
for best flavor use within 1 year.